Airblow 2050 Realizes The Concept Of An Invisible Umbrella

Our days of fighting the wind with our umbrellas might soon be over. We might actually be able to use that situation to our own advantage. You have to admit that you have at least on one occasion fought the wind with your umbrella. Sometimes it’s tough to find the right direction to hold it in order for it not to go inverted. It’s a problem that a lot of people have experienced, but there could soon be a better way. The people working on a product called Airblow might just have a clever solution.

The Airblow is a futuristic concept umbrella which uses a powerful stream of air to cover you from the rain instead of using a textile. This concept could prove to be both more effective and a whole lot more casual. The basic concept behind Airblow is that the umbrella rod shoots air out through its nozzle which deflects the rain, keeping it from hitting you. It’s an interesting concept that reminds me of Blade Runner for some reason. There are no umbrellas in that movie that do this, but it’s still one of those science fiction gadgets that could totally reinvent how we use our umbrellas.

The concept comes from French designer Quentin Debaene, and it received a nomination for the James Dyson Award. The Airblow 2050 (as it is really called) uses a powerful Dyson motor that can silently draw in and push out air in speeds that would keep its owner from being hit by the rain. Whether this futuristic product will ever become reality is of course hard to say. However, our technology is definitely advanced enough to realize this new and quite amazing umbrella concept. I can’t wait to pick one of these up instead of an ordinary textile umbrella. It will be nice not to have an invisible battle with the wind every time it’s raining. Hopefully this Airblow umbrella will be available before 2050 – that number that seems to be indicating a year. We all need this now! Get innovating!

Quentin Debaene’s Airblow 2050 Umbrella Concept

Via: [UFunk – French]